our long weekend in missoula.

Have you guys been to Missoula, Montana? I’d visited a couple brief times and enjoyed it, but after a recent long weekend there exploring, Nick and I decided that if (when?) we ever move, it’ll be to Missoula. It’s big enough that it has all the necessities – you know, like Target, Costco, good coffee and food, a nice swimming pool. But it also has fantastic outdoor recreation: all the trail running and ok road and legit mountain biking. We lucked out, too, with great tour guides who showed us all the local trail gems.

Here’s our weekend in photos…

First up, a morning hike with the whole crew (we were in Missoula for a reunion) in the Pattee Canyon Recreation Area. The views over Missoula were spectacular! And pretty sure we haven’t seen blue sky like this in Minnesota since August. 

We also spent a couple afternoons mountain biking. It was only my second and third times on knobby tires in three years, but I’m pretty sure I need a new bike (n+1 is the magic number, right?). Dirt riding is HARD, but so fun. There’s something pretty magical about riding through the woods – the quiet, the trees, not staring at a Garmin. And the focus! Look away for a second, and you could end up close friends with a tree. And unlike riding my tri bike where descending at 40+mph is exhilarating, descending on a mountain bike is terrifying. Thank goodness for brakes. 

Trailing running was equally humbling. We ran a couple times – once in Pattee Canyon and another in Rattlesnake – and whoa, is that another level of suffering, especially compared to road running. But, no surprise: I absolutely loved it for all the same reasons as mountain biking. The quiet, the focus, the not caring about pace – for the pure love and joy of running. 

Food in Missoula didn’t disappoint, either. We coffeed at Caffe Dolce a few times (it was a block from our Airbnb) as well as at Clyde Coffee. Our whole crew made sushi one night – thank you, Christy + Steven! – and hit up Imagine Nation Brewing Co. another night. And obviously, if there’s an açai bowl truck, you get one no matter how full you are from avocado waffles. 

Avo toast + an oat milk latte.

Not the prettiest sushi, but it was delicious.

When you don’t drink beer, it’s totally ok to have three kombuchas.

And the Missoula Farmers Market at the XXXXs! It didn’t disappoint. Montana’s known for huckleberries – have you tried them? They’re a tarter – and tastier! – version of blueberries. And if there’d been a way to bring home a $70 bag of them, we would have, but we instead settled for a delicious jar of jam and syrup. 

And we almost came home with the best souvenir. Owning (and maybe restoring) an Airstream and traveling around the country is on my in this life list, so I tried really hard to convince Nick. No-go this time, but it’ll happen eventually. I mean, how awesome would it be to travel to races in one?!